Remembering our friend Annette
It is around 9 months now since we received the news that our friend Annette Fisher-Norris had passed away. I say our friend, because within Brighton and Hove Jewry she was known by almost all, and loved by the vast majority.
Personally I had known her for well over 50 years, but it was in the last few that I joined the special group who were part of her life.
She was in her early 70s when she passed on. She was very proud of her past. She loved talking about the group of friends who were at Brighton and Hove High School with her. She was proud of her roots in agriculture and in fisheries, being a “Boddington”
Annette’s mother, Sheila remarried when she was young to Jack Fisher and to many she was just known as Annette Fisher. Her younger brother Neil is a Chef and catering organiser for the proprietors of care homes.
After M & S, she went to work in the office of Brighton and Hove Reform Shul and was a major part in the management success of that body.
Annette was a very positive person and when she had a view, she was pretty sure she was right. Unfortunately in that organisation there were others involved of a similar disposition, and she left there to the advantage of Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation.
There she administered the accounts. But though she only worked a half week, she volunteered to let her telephone number be used after office hours, and if there was any emergency Annette did not think of the extra hours she was doing.
When there was a Lavoyah, Annette always interacted with the families in a sympathetic way and helped them through difficult times.
She was a very generous friend to many. However she was never a “Yes-person” and if she disagreed with you - you knew it.
When for 2/3 years before the Covid pandemic, I started organising monthly Shabbat dinners in West Sussex, she was the first to volunteer to help me with the catering which had to be Kosher. Without her I could never have done it.
Annette was married for a while and had a son Keiron. She was very proud of his achievements at Hurspierpoint College. Keiron has lived in Hong Kong for several years and has now married with a little boy - Kinobe.
Annette would not go to Hong Kong as the journey would have involved too much time without a cigarette. For this reason, though she met both Keiron’s wife Macey over the internet, and saw her only grandson Kinobe it was to everyone’s regret that she never actually met them and hugged the child.
As I said before, it is around 9 months since she passed. Whenever I see her friends, we all agree, how we miss her. I used to chat to her over the phone for long periods, when we would discuss events and she would make sure I was behaving correctly!
I know I speak for the many when I say “Annette Fisher-Norris, I miss you!”
